Be Real and Truthful About Your Project Budget

One of the first questions I ask a potential client is related to their budget.  Primarily I need to estimate wether they can pay for the work proposed.  When a client is hesitant at first to give me a ballpark figure usually it's because they don't want to waste money on unnecessary or extravagant expenses.   However, when a client gives me a budget I have to tailor my design to suit, and typically if the budget was kept on the low side as opposed to being accurate it limits the overall design.  I do everything to maintain a budget for a project, but it is very difficult to add after the fact.  Of course you can upgrade finishes but the core of the project can rarely be upgraded.  So it is my best advise to prepare a real budget and share this information with your architect at an early stage in the project!